Calls to reform California's recall system are getting louder after a failed effort to remove Gov. Gavin Newsom cost taxpayers at least $276 million.

In this week's "In Focus SoCal," host Tanya McRae sits down with State Sen. Josh Newman to discuss constitutional amendments that he'd like to see, including having the lieutenant governor taking over if a governor is recalled.

"If you impeach the President of the United States, we replace him or her with the Vice President of the United States," said Newman. "We have in California a number two constitutional officer, that's the lieutenant governor."

The state senator is the most recent state official to be recalled in 2018 but won his seat back last year. He authored SB 660 to prohibit pay-per-signature incentives, and the bill was passed and now awaiting signature on the governor's desk.

John Myers, Sacramento bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, also joins the conversation and discusses a recent poll The Times conducted with UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies. The poll found that a majority of voters surveyed said they support several options for revising recall laws. The most popular option was creating a runoff election if a state official is recalled and no replacement candidates wins a majority of votes cast.

"The final analysis of whether the recall system changes, it's going to depend on whether voters see it as a bipartisan collaborative effort that does not favor one side or the other," said Myers. "I think the more that voters sense that this is just for Democrats, or this is a provision for Republicans, or this is a provision for a guy like Gavin Newsom, that's the easiest way to kill something in politics."

Send us your thoughts to InFocusSoCal@charter.com and watch at 9 a.m. and noon Sundays.